diff --git modules/field/modules/list/list.module modules/field/modules/list/list.module
index 4310ab4..c28e84f 100644
--- modules/field/modules/list/list.module
+++ modules/field/modules/list/list.module
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ function list_field_info() {
   return array(
     'list' => array(
       'label' => t('List'),
-      'description' => t('This field stores numeric keys from key/value lists of allowed values where the key is a simple alias for the position of the value, i.e. 0|First option, 1|Second option, 2|Third option.'),
+      'description' => t('This field stores keys from key/value lists of allowed integer numbers where the stored numeric key has significance and must be preserved, i.e. \'Lifetime in days\': 1|1 day, 7|1 week, 31|1 month.'),
       'settings' => array('allowed_values' => '', 'allowed_values_function' => ''),
       'default_widget' => 'options_select',
       'default_formatter' => 'list_default',
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ function list_field_info() {
     ),
     'list_number' => array(
       'label' => t('List (numeric)'),
-      'description' => t('This field stores keys from key/value lists of allowed numbers where the stored numeric key has significance and must be preserved, i.e. \'Lifetime in days\': 1|1 day, 7|1 week, 31|1 month.'),
+      'description' => t('This field stores keys from key/value lists of allowed decimal numbers where the stored numeric key has significance and must be preserved, i.e. \'Lifetime in days\': 1|1 day, 7|1 week, 31|1 month.'),
       'settings' => array('allowed_values' => '', 'allowed_values_function' => ''),
       'default_widget' => 'options_select',
       'default_formatter' => 'list_default',
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ function list_allowed_values($field) {
     }
     elseif (!empty($field['settings']['allowed_values'])) {
       $position_keys = $field['type'] == 'list';
-      $values = list_extract_allowed_values($field['settings']['allowed_values'], $position_keys);
+      $values = list_extract_allowed_values($field['settings']['allowed_values']);
     }
 
     $allowed_values[$field['id']] = $values;
@@ -223,13 +223,8 @@ function list_allowed_values($field) {
  *   'allowed_values' setting:
  *    - Values are separated by a carriage return.
  *    - Each value is in the format "value|label" or "value".
- * @param $position_keys
- *   Boolean value indicating whether to generate keys based on the position of
- *   the value if a key is not manually specified, effectively generating
- *   integer-based keys. This should only be TRUE for fields that have a type of
- *   "list". Otherwise the value will be used as the key if not specified.
  */
-function list_extract_allowed_values($string_values, $position_keys = FALSE) {
+function list_extract_allowed_values($string_values) {
   $values = array();
 
   $list = explode("\n", $string_values);
@@ -240,9 +235,7 @@ function list_extract_allowed_values($string_values, $position_keys = FALSE) {
     if (strpos($value, '|') !== FALSE) {
       list($key, $value) = explode('|', $value);
     }
-    // Otherwise see if we need to use the value as the key. The "list" type
-    // will automatically convert non-keyed lines to integers.
-    elseif (!$position_keys) {
+    else {
       $key = $value;
     }
     $values[$key] = (isset($value) && $value !== '') ? $value : $key;
diff --git modules/field/modules/list/tests/list.test modules/field/modules/list/tests/list.test
index 3a1472d..d2152b6 100644
--- modules/field/modules/list/tests/list.test
+++ modules/field/modules/list/tests/list.test
@@ -140,6 +140,9 @@ class ListFieldUITestCase extends FieldTestCase {
     $edit = array($element_name => "1.1|one\n");
     $this->drupalPost($admin_path, $edit, t('Save settings'));
     $this->assertText("keys must be integers", t('Form validation failed.'));
+    $edit = array($element_name => "one\n");
+    $this->drupalPost($admin_path, $edit, t('Save settings'));
+    $this->assertText("keys must be integers", t('Form validation failed.'));
 
     // Test 'List (number)' field type.
     $admin_path = $this->createListFieldAndEdit('list_number');
@@ -147,6 +150,9 @@ class ListFieldUITestCase extends FieldTestCase {
     $edit = array($element_name => "1|one\nB|two");
     $this->drupalPost($admin_path, $edit, t('Save settings'));
     $this->assertText("each key must be a valid integer or decimal", t('Form validation failed.'));
+    $edit = array($element_name => "one");
+    $this->drupalPost($admin_path, $edit, t('Save settings'));
+    $this->assertText("each key must be a valid integer or decimal", t('Form validation failed.'));
 
     // Test 'List (text)' field type.
     $admin_path = $this->createListFieldAndEdit('list_text');